The Internet: the Good and the Bad.

The Internet is a great source of information. It has given power to the people to express themselves in ways that were never possible before. Information that used to be hard to come by is now readily available. This newfound wealth of information has the potential to be a great benefit to the world. However, there are some that wish to use the Internet for malicious purposes. The freedom of the Internet allows the sharing of any type of information and does so nearly instantly. In the same way that good information is readily available, harmful information is also easy to come by. We need to watch ourselves as we use the Internet. We need to understand what information is good and what information is bad. A filter can help protect us, but education is far more important. We must teach our children what information is bad and help them to know what to do if they stumble into more hostile areas of the Internet. Only by doing this can our children and ourselves be safe on the Internet.

The World Is Flat

Even though I am not very old, I did grow up through the nineties. I remember going from not owning a computer, to having one with DOS, then Windows 3.1, and finally we got one with Windows 98 and the Internet. Obviously, being so young, I took for granted all of these advances. As I look at all the technology that exists today, and think about what didn’t exist when I was a kid, I feel like I was born in the dark ages. The level of technological advancement in the past 20 years is astounding. If all of this is amazing to me, how do my grandparents feel? Has there ever been a time in history where so much has changed in so little a time?

All of these technological advancements did not stay in the United States. The entire world quickly adopted them. When that happened, the world became a much smaller place. The way business was done completely changed. What was once thought of as a local job soon became a job that was done in India. People had to adapt to this changing global market or become unemployed. This is still true today. We all need to learn to be adaptable or one day we may find ourselves outsourced. Still, all of these changes have so far been a great blessing to the world. Despite the changes in the jobs that are available in America, Americans are still employed and the rate of technological advancement continues to grow.

Although I grew up while these technologies were also growing up, my experiences with technology are going to be very different from next generation. I remember when the technology did not exist. Children born now are growing up with all of this technology around them. They way that they interact with the world is very different than from the way I interacted with the world as a youth. Disregarding any arguments about whether this constant connection to the rest of the world is healthy for them, by growing up with a globally connected mind set, they will be very well prepared to be great businesspeople in the new global market. I am excited to see what will come about in the next 40 years.

Open-Source vs. Closed-Source

Open-source software is an incredible phenomenon in the computing world. From hobbyist programmers’ free time, many complex programs have been developed. Not only have they been developed, but they have been developed very quickly. Such programs seem a miracle when viewed from a closed-source perspective. Despite the miracles of open-source software, it is not the magic bullet for all computer software needs. There is no monetary gain for an open-source project. It cannot be sold because everybody can build it. This monetary drive is what will keep closed-source projects alive. Although development is not as clean or quick as an open-source project, one fact still remains at the end of the day; the closed-source group will have made money and the open-source group will have not. In spite of there being some great software from the open-source community, the open-source mind set will never completely displace closed-source monetary draw.

Technology and Copyright Law

The copyright laws of America have been around for many years. When they were created the concept of digital media did not exist. Technological advancements have changed the way Americans consume digital media and pose a significant challenge for those wishing to enforce their copyrights. Consumers want the ability to use the media that they purchase for whatever legitimate personal uses that can. The producers of the media fear that having such an open media will allow for piracy to occur too easily. As a result of these two opposing mindsets, America has two laws which often contradict each other; the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and Fair Use. There seems to be no simple solution to this issue. However, much of the problem appears to rise from the way the market is currently demanding media and the refusal by the producers to offer it in such a way. I feel that if the producers were to accept the changing market and offer their media at reasonable prices in the digital format that users want, then buyers would not need to pirate it to get it in the format they want.

Technology in our Cars

Technological advancements in the automotive industry have historically been focused on either the performance or the safety of the car. In general, tasks that the driver would normally perform have been left to the driver. Several groups, including a group of Stanford graduate students, are looking to change that. The Stanford group of students is making a car that can drive itself. Although many other groups have succeeded at this before, their cars were not able to navigate complex courses at any substantial speed. In contrast, the Stanford group is looking at making their Audi TTS autonomously navigate Pikes Peak at near race speeds. Racing Pikes Peak is no simple task. Pikes Peak is a complex race course that challenges even the best professional race car drivers. If their car succeeds to drive such a complex course with no driver, what else will their car be able to do in the future? The future of how we transport ourselves could change dramatically.